A Southern California family is mourning the tragic loss of a father and his two young children killed in a fiery crash involving a drunk driver on Friday night.
CBS affiliate station KCAL reports that the crash happened in San Bernardino on Friday, November 27th at approximately 11:45 p.m. when 31-year-old Tavea Tarlton was driving his Toyota Camry from his mother’s home. With him were his four children, 4-year-old Elizah and 2-year-old Farrow, 8-year-old Dallas, and 5-year-old Khamyil.
As Tarlton was driving through the intersection of Kendall and University Parkway, a driver in a yellow Ford Mustang blew through the light and crashed into the Toyota. The force of the impact caused the car to burst into flame.
Emergency crews arrived at the scene of the fiery crash and declared Tavea Tarlton dead at the scene. The children were rushed to the hospital. 2-year old Farrow and 4-year-old Elizah later died as the result of injuries they suffered in the crash.
Dallas and Khamyil Tarlton survived the crash and are listed with moderate to severe injuries. Mrs. Tarlton was not in the vehicle at the time of the deadly crash.
Porsha Bell, Tarlton’s mother and the children’s grandmother, said of the tragedy, “I’m feeling angry. I’m feeling hurt. I’m feeling despair.”
The driver of the Mustang has been identified as 23-year-old Brandon Jaquez-Perez of Bloomington.
Police say that Jaquez-Perez had been driving under the influence of alcohol and was believed to have been speeding at the time of the deadly crash. He has been charged with gross manslaughter and driving while intoxicated.
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